We have long reached peak performativity in society. Of course, there has always been an element of performance, and if I could control my reading to just Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, then I would likely give you a nice little overview of the work on this subject. I’m going to have to come back to that as I have a feeling this is going to become a series of posts. I think, if I were a different kind of person, I would be talking about “wokery” right now. I hate that word. I hated it when the self-righteously inclusive self-proclaimed themselves as “woke”, and I still hate it now those without broadly inclusive politics justifiably use it as an insult against those who proclaim broadly inclusive politics. Even as I type this, there is so much to unpack. What do I mean by “peak performativity”? What do I
The world is a shit show, capitalism is a ravaging devil, and in the absence of anything resembling democracy in this country – local or national, I remain convinced that the only way to effect change is non-participation. I haven’t quite figured out how to do that (yet), but in the interim, I reckon supporting small businesses is a decent enough bridge towards something better than the corrupt and unequal world we have. Maybe if we all stop working for the man and start working for ourselves, which means buying from each other, we can start making tiny fractures in the oppressive systems which make it hard for ordinary people to breathe. It is for this reason that I support Black Pound Day. Racism is an ever present evil that needs to be fought on multiple levels at every opportunity. Supporting black entrepreneurs is one way we can cut through the
I’m trying to think of the best way to start this. I can’t just write about the demo yesterday, because it’s not just about the demo yesterday. Every time I think or do anything about Palestine / Israel, it is always connected to my visit. In Culture in the Plural, Michel de Certeau notes that unless a group can convince wider society of the importance of its stance, it is doomed to merely be a ‘cultural’ issue forever. A folkloric and marginal matter that does not affect (or has no importance for) wider society, and is therefore politicly impotent. The group will remain at best a curiosity, always marginalised, with its voices mainly unheard. Of course, de Certeau was talking about the Bretons and the Basques, but his point is relevant for all those outside of mainstream hegemony who are trying for some kind of political impact. As I previously said, I
Going to Palestine in 2006 changed my life. It was an innocently motivated trip to see the ‘Holy Land’, as I was studying religions and had chosen to focus on the Abrahamic three. In this way, I was utterly unprepared for what I saw and experienced. Prior to going, I had taken only a passing interest in the horrendously difficult mess that is the Palestine / Israeli conflict, as it all seemed so politicised. I tend to shy away from politics, since it all feels like lies. But what I saw changed all of that. I came back promising myself that I must do something more to help the Palestinians than just writing about it and telling people what I saw. Largely, I suppose, I have failed that promise, aside from a half-hearted boycott of Israeli goods (I’m not entirely sure it is the right thing to do since many Palestinians